Trapped horse dies
despite heroic efforts
Jim Valentine and daughter, Amanda, stand by ravine where ‘Yahtahay’ was trapped.
New digs for LBMS to be dedicated
On Wednesday, Nov.
19 at 6 p.m. the Three Riv-
ers School District (TRSD)
will hold a dedication cere-
mony for the new Lorna
Byrne Middle School
(LBMS).
The completion of the
new middle school will
come under budget. The
Lorna Byrne project also
includes the construction
of a new Illinois Valley
High School football facil-
ity located on IVHS prop-
erty.
The dedication of the
new school will be the cul-
mination of $24 million in
capital improvements that
are being competed
throughout the district
since voters passed the
bond in 2000 .
Nearly 50 percent
(more than $11 million) of
the bond projects were
done in Illinois Valley at
Lorna Byrne, Evergreen
Elementary, and IVHS.
These projects include air
quality improvements, new
flooring, parking lot up-
grades, new roof, electrical
upgrades, improved heat-
ing systems and many
other renovations.
Dave Toler, TRSD
board chair said that Nov.
19 will be a “very special
day for the people of I.V.
The new Lorna Byrne
school is a fine facility,
second only to Grants Pass
High, in Josephine County.
This will be a very good
day for the community.”
Toler noted that there
ware many community
members responsible for
the new school, including
members of two citizen
planning committees, a
design committee made up
of Lorna Byrne staff and
community members and a
Safe School campaign
committee that worked
hard to get the bond
passed.
“But we can’t forget
the most important partner
in achieving this beautiful
facility.-- the voters. It was
the voters throughout the
district who said ‘Yes, I
will spend my limited re-
sources to ensure that our
kids are in a safe school
that can provide them the
learning opportunities they
will need to succeed in the
21st century.”
“I believe that the im-
pact of this new facility
goes far beyond these new
walls. This state-of-the-art
facility embraces a promis-
ing vision for our commu-
nity that we can see in
other improvements taking
place in Downtown Cave
Junction, including the
rock landscaping and sev-
eral upgraded businesses,”
he continued.
The dedication will
feature tours of the new
school. Refreshments will
be served.
IN MEMORY OF VETERANS -- Members of the American Legion Post 70 and the
American Legion Auxiliary Unit 70 celebrated the memory of veterans on Tuesday,
Nov. 11 at Cave Junction City Hall with a memorial wreath, patriotic music and flags.
Related photos on page 9.
(Photo by Steve Fairchild)
CJ council
raises city
land use fees
Cave Junction resi-
dents will pay more for
land use permits beginning
on Nov. 26.
City Councilmen ap-
proved a resolution during
their Monday night, Nov.
10 meeting in city hall to
reassemble the city’s land
use permit types into four
categories, from simplest
to most complex.
Type I applications
now include items such as
fence and minor sign per-
mits, whereas subdivisions
are now considered Type
IV applications.
The increase, the coun-
cil explained, is to help
cover the city’s actual cost
for processing the applica-
tions.
Despite some dissen-
tion among councilmen
about increasing certain
fees, they agreed to raise
the $10 fence permit to
$20 and raise the permit
for a new driveway from
$20 to $50. A zone change
permit will now cost $395
instead of $600. An an-
nexation permit will now
cost $600, up from $415.
The cost of a subdivision
permit will rise from $500
to $1,500, plus engineering
costs.
The council also
unanimously approved a
zone change from single
family residential to multi-
ple family residential for
Virgil and Joanne Lemley
for a .55-acre lot located at
131 North Junction Ave.
To help protect pedes-
trians, the council also de-
cided to make the Lister
Street and Kerby Avenue
intersection a four-way
stop.
Currently, only those
driving on Kerby Ave. are
required to stop.
Mayor Ed Faircloth
added, however, that he
will give the public a 30-
day notice of the new con-
figuration and will test it
for 90 days before decid-
ing if it will remain.
By STEVE FAIRCHILD
Staff Writer
A horse, with a value
of approximately $20,000
— but priceless to its own-
ers — died this week after
getting stuck in a small
ravine.
The 6-year-old quarter
horse gelding named
“Yahtahay” was missing
from the home of Jim and
Kathy Valentine on 5830
West Side Road for two-
and-a-half days before it
wa s d i s c o v e r e d o n
Wednesday, Nov. 5.
A neighbor, Bob
Jones, who had grazed cat-
tle on the lot next to the
Valentine’s house, discov-
ered the horse alive in a
six-foot by three-foot ra-
vine.
Jones ran to the Valen-
tine’s house and got the
horse’s owner, 16-year-old
Amanda Valentine, to try
and help him get the horse
out.
The two discovered
Yahtahay collapsed on its
side beneath a ravine ledge
overhang which kept the
horse out of sight. The
Valentines had looked in
the area while searching
for Yahtahay but couldn’t
see it because of the way
the ravine had eroded.
Jones said cold water
and debris backed up be-
hind the horse forming a
sort of dam. Jones jumped
into the water and removed
debris to try to free the
horse.
“My feeling was that
the horse had to be some-
where over there,” Jones
said of locating the horse.
“I’m just sorry we couldn’t
be there sooner. The whole
thing is that it was just too
cold.”
Josephine County
Sheriff’s deputies and Illi-
nois Valley Fire District
volunteers responded to
the scene. A tow truck
from Jerry’s Towing was
also called out to help free
the horse. Jim Valentine,
who owns Valley Tree
Service, also used one of
his tree-trimming trucks to
help get the horse out.
Jim also said volunteer
firefighter De Spellman
put up a heroic effort
jumping into the water to
try to save Yahtahay.
It took approximately
45 minutes to free the
horse.
Once Yahtahay was
freed, he was covered with
a blanket. However, the
stress, hypothermia, and
injuries, including a rup-
tured gut, was too much
for the horse.
Jim said that losing the
horse was heartbreaking,
but the thought of
Yahtahay suffering for
more than two days in the
ravine made it worse.
“It appeared that
somebody might have sto-
len him,” he said. “I wish
somebody would have. At
least he would be warm in
a barn somewhere right
now instead of being
dead.”
The Valentines and
some friends said evidence
at the scene, including bro-
ken fences and poles,
showed that Yahtahay may
have been running at full
speed to try and flee from
mountain lions or a bear.
Amanda said she saw
mountain lions in the area
the evening before the
horse went missing.
“An animal just does-
(Continued on page 4)
ANGEL OF COFFEE -- A new carved wooden angel
was placed atop of Coffee Heaven in Cave Junction on
Thursday, Nov. 6. Illinois Valley artist Dudley Douglas
carved the angel out of the same piece of Douglas fir
he used to carve the coffee house’s first angel which
was stolen in February. The new angel weighs 250
pounds and is more than 6-feet tall. Illinois Valley
Building Supply provided a fork lift and driver to help
lift the angel onto the roof. Related photos of the event
are on page 8.
(Photo by Steve Fairchild)